‘At the age of 9 he could carry his father up a flight of stairs’
He could have been even taller if he had lived longer.
Robert Pershing Wadlow (February 22, 1918 – July 15, 1940), also known as the Alton Giant and the Giant of Illinois, was an American who became famous as the tallest person ever in human recorded history for whom there is irrefutable evidence.
The Alton and Illinois monikers reflect the fact that he was born and raised in Alton, Illinois.
Wadlow was the oldest of five children.
He was taller than his father by the age of 8, and in elementary school they had to make a special desk for him due to his size.
At the age of 9, weighing 180 pounds, he was strong enough to carry his father (who was sitting in a living room chair) up the stairs to the second floor.
By the time he had graduated from Alton High School in 1936, he was 8ft 4in (2.54m).
Wadlow reached 8 ft 11.1in (2.72m) in height and weighed 490 lb (220 kg) at his death at age 22.
His great size and his continued growth in adulthood were due to hyperplasia of his pituitary gland, which results in an abnormally high level of human growth hormone.
He showed no indication of an end to his growth even at the time of his death.
Robert died at 1.30am on 15 July 1940 in a hotel in Manistee, Michigan, as a result of a septic blister on his right ankle caused by a brace, which had been poorly fitted only a week earlier.
He was buried in Oakwood Cemetery, Alton in a coffin measuring 3.28m (10 ft 9 in) long, 81cm (32 in) wide and 76 cm (30 in) deep.
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(Source: Wikipedia and Guinness World Records)
